| Kesher Israel | |
|---|---|
Hebrew:קשר ישראל | |
 Kesher Israel in 2022 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Modern Orthodox Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 2801 N Street,Georgetown Historic District,NWWashington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
  Location inWashington, D.C. | |
| Coordinates | 38°54′25″N77°3′25″W / 38.90694°N 77.05694°W /38.90694; -77.05694 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Julius Wenig |
| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Established | 1911(as a congregation) |
| Completed | 1931 |
| Website | |
| kesher | |
Kesher Israel | |
| Part of | Georgetown Historic District (ID67000025) |
| Significant dates | |
| Designated NHLDCP | May 28, 1967 |
| Designated DCIHS | November 8, 1964 |
| [1] | |
Kesher Israel (Hebrew:קשר ישראל,lit. 'Kinship of Israel'), also known as theGeorgetown Synagogue,[2] is aModern Orthodoxsynagogue located in theGeorgetown neighborhood ofWashington, D.C. The congregation was founded in 1911 and its worshipers have included prominent politicians, diplomats, jurists, journalists, and authors.
In 1910, six localJewish merchants organized the Georgetown Hebrew Benevolent Society, which began to conduct religious services above a storefront onM Street,NW.[2] A year later, this kernel, now numbering 50 families, founded Kesher Israel Congregation,[3] which thus became the seventh synagogue organized in the nation's capital.[4] In 1915, the congregation acquired, renovated, and began to meet in a premises at 2801 N Street, NW. The current synagogue building, which was constructed in 1931 on that site[3][5] with a construction budget of $28,000,[6] is acontributing property to the Georgetown Historic District, aNational Historic Landmark, listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[5]
The synagogue also administers two congregational cemeteries, one inAnacostia[7] and the other inCapitol Heights, Maryland.[8]
Kesher Israel is the last of the city's original pre-war Orthodox synagogues located in walking distance ofdowntown Washington. Beginning in the 1950s, as the local Jewish community grew exponentially, all the others relocated uptown or to suburbanMontgomery County, Maryland.[9] This demographic trend, coupled with the passing of the founding generation, reduced Kesher Israel's membership in the 1960s to the point where it was difficult to ensure a dailyminyan. The synagogue, however, experienced a renaissance beginning in the late 1970s,[10] spurred byyoung urban professionals who were moving to Georgetown and nearby neighborhoods, including theWest End,Foggy Bottom,Dupont Circle,Burleith, and even those further afield likeAdams-Morgan,Kalorama andRosslyn, acrossKey Bridge inArlington County, Virginia.[11] As of 2016[update], its membership was approximately 250 families and singles.[12] Kesher Israel also attracts many students enrolled at nearbyGeorgetown University andGeorge Washington University.[13]
Following the signing of theCamp David Accords in September 1978, members of theIsraeli delegation to the subsequentBlair House negotiations, including Foreign MinisterMoshe Dayan and Defense MinisterEzer Weizman, attendedKol Nidre services at the synagogue.[14]
Kesher Israel attracted national media attention during the2000 U.S. presidential election when a member,SenatorJoseph Lieberman, was selected as theDemocratic nominee forVice President of the United States.[15][16] When the Senate scheduled important votes onShabbat, Lieberman walked nearly 3 miles (5 km) from the synagogue to theUnited States Capitol, a trek he made over 25 times during his Senate career.[17]
AuthorHerman Wouk, who joined Kesher Israel upon relocating to Washington when he began to research his novels ofWorld War II, called it "the best littleshul in America"[18] and "a haven of trueYiddishkeit at the center of the finest neighborhood in Washington."[19] It was due to his long association with the community that Kesher Israel was commonly known in Washington as "Herman Wouk's synagogue."[20] Wouk recalled Kesher Israel one last time in his final book and memoir,Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author (2015), stating that “The little old synagogue at one end of N Street was our kind ofshul.”[21]
After it was founded, the Georgetown Hebrew Benevolent Association hired Elias Stolar as "minister andHebrew teacher" and "recognized religious leader." Born inRussia in about 1881, he was referred to as "reverend," a widely used title at the time for synagogue functionaries who were not ordained rabbis.[22]
The synagogue's first spiritual leader was the Polish-born, British-trainedRabbiGeorge (Gedaliah) Silverstone, who concurrently servedOhev Sholom Congregation (then located at 5th and I Streets, NW).[2] He remained with both congregations until he announced his intention to makealiyah to theLand of Israel in 1923.[9] While he made several return trips back to Washington after that, Rabbi Silverstone died inJerusalem in 1944 and was buried on theMount of Olives.
Rabbi Silverstone was a vice president of theUnion of Orthodox Rabbis, a director of the Hebrew Sanitarium ofDenver and the Hebrew Home for the Aged of Washington and a member ofB'nai B'rith. He also founded the firstTalmud Torah in Washington and many of his sermons refer to the poor state ofJewish education. An activeZionist, he attended theSixth Zionist Congress in 1903 as a delegate fromBelfast before he emigrated to theUnited States.
The first rabbi named to lead Kesher Israel on an exclusive basis was Rabbi Jacob Aizer Dubrow, aChabadhassid, who was appointed in 1925 and remained with the synagogue until his death in 1944 at the age of 64. Born inŽlobin in what is todayBelarus, he was one of the original students of the fifth Lubavitcherrebbe,Sholom Dovber Schneersohn, at theTomchei Temimimyeshiva inLyubavichi, where he studied for seven years.[23] After receivingsemikhah, Rabbi Dubrow became themelamed of the son of theSkvererrebbe before becoming arosh yeshiva in a town nearKiev. He then served as a rabbi andposek in a number ofUkrainianshtetlekh before leaving forBaltimore in 1924.
Rabbi Dubrow's main focus was education. He instituted dailyTalmud classes, both at the synagogue and at the Hebrew Home for the Aged, and an afternoonTalmud Torah for the synagogue's children, hiring Rabbi Oscar Summer as their teacher. He was also one of four Washington rabbis who initiated the establishment of the city's firstJewish day school, the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington (now known as theMelvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy). Rabbi Dubrow also organized a congregationalhevra kadishah. He is remembered in Chabad for being instrumental in facilitating the wartime evacuation of the sixth Lubavitcherrebbe,Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, fromGerman-occupiedWarsaw in 1940 by interceding, together with several rabbinic colleagues, with PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt and a number of senators.[24]
Rabbi Dubrow's first wife died after their arrival in the United States. He was survived by his second wife, five daughters and his only son, who had remained in theSoviet Union and would fall in battle as a soldier in theRed Army near the close of the war. Another married daughter had predeceased him. During hisfuneral at Kesher Israel parts ofPennsylvania Avenue, two blocks away, had to be closed off in order to accommodate the crowds that came to pay their last respects. Rabbi Dubrow bequeathed in hiswill that his personal library of religious books was to be auctioned off after his death and the money raised be donated to help support the poor of Jerusalem. Mention of this final act ofcharity was etched into hisgravestone. He was buried in Kesher Israel's Capitol Heights cemetery.[24]
Rabbi Dubrow was succeeded by Rabbi I. Meckler (1945–1946) and Rabbi Sidney Shulman (1946–1949).[9]
Rabbi Philip L. Rabinowitz was appointed rabbi of Kesher Israel in 1950.[9] Born Jeruchem Fiszel Arje Rabinowicz inŁomża,Poland in 1920, he and his twin sister were the youngest of 13 children. With World War II on the horizon, he left home at the age of 18 to study at an American yeshiva, theHebrew Theological College inChicago,Illinois, where he would receivesemikhah. His immigration to theUnited States was sponsored by his eldest brother, who had arrived in Chicago two years before he was born. Another brother emigrated to the Land of Israel in 1933 but his other relatives, including his parents, Rabbi Asher and Miriam Rabinowicz, were murdered in theHolocaust.
At Kesher Israel Rabbi Rabinowitz focused on three objectives: to study and teachTorah, sustain the dailyminyanim and watch over the welfare of his community. His home was always open to anyone in need, even strangers, and he helped assure that the community was spiritually enriched.[19] He was instrumental in founding the WashingtonBeit Din (rabbinical court) and theVaad HaKashrut,Greater Washington'skosher food supervisory body.[2]
On the evening of February 28, 1984, Rabbi Rabinowitz, a 63-year-old widower who lived alone,[25] was murdered in his West End home by an unknown assailant shortly after returning fromMaariv.[26] His bludgeoned body was found the next morning on the floor of his small study by four congregants whose concern was raised by his atypical absence from that morning's incompleteShaharitminyan (had he attended, he would have been the tenth). It is presumed that the rabbi knew his murderer because he was always careful to peek out the window pane in order to check the identity of whoever rang his doorbell before opening the door. Moreover, while the door was closed and unlocked, there was no evidence of forced entry or robbery.[27]
The case was never solved and remains open to this day.[28]
An estimated one-thousand mourners attended Rabbi Rabinowitz's funeral held on the morning of March 1 at the synagogue, including theIsraeli ambassador, Dr.Meir Rosenne, who delivered one of the eulogies.[27] He was buried inIsrael one day later next to his wife, who died unexpectedly from natural causes in 1978. He was survived by a son (named after his father), a daughter (named after his mother), several grandchildren, and his brothers in Chicago and Israel.[4]: 127
Aneruv encompassing Georgetown, adjacent neighborhoods and all of downtown Washington was established by the congregation in 1990 and named in Rabbi Rabinowitz's memory.[3][29] The Hebrew Academy, where he taught from 1958 to 1979, named itsKollelBeit Midrash in memory of the rabbi and annually presents its Rabbi Philip Rabinowitz Memorial Award for Excellence inLimudei Kodesh to outstanding students.[30]
Rabbi Rabinowitz was succeeded by Rabbi Rod Glogower (1985–1988).[31]
Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel was named to the pulpit of Kesher Israel in 1989. He would soon develop a reputation as "a brilliant scholar,"[32] a "profound" orator[33] and an authority in several areas ofhalakha, includingeruvim, which he assisted in constructing in a number of cities, including Washington.[34]
In early October 2014 the lay leadership of Kesher Israel and the National CapitalMikvah, an independent facility located in an adjacent synagogue building that Freundel had been instrumental in founding in 2005, delivered to the police a suspiciousclock radio[35] that was placed in themikvah shower room, disappeared and suddenly appeared again."Upon receiving information regarding potentially inappropriate activity, the board of directors quickly alerted the appropriate officials," the synagogue andmikvah boards wrote in a joint statement. "Throughout the investigation, we cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so."[36]
On October 14, Freundel was arrested for recording women showering using the clock radio, which was equipped with a hidden video camera.[37] He was suspended without pay upon his arrest[38] and then fired.[39] The synagogue board immediately directed its attention to the victims of his actions by arranging a support group led by a licensed psychologist and consultations with therapists,[40] as well as organizing a closed community meeting withCathy L. Lanier, Washington'schief of police.[41]
On December 2, a student atGeorgetown University Law Center, where Freundel taught a seminar onJewish law,[42] filed a lawsuit against Kesher Israel, as well as Georgetown University and the National Capital Mikvah. The unnamed student, who had written a term paper on themikvah, seeks class action status and claims that the defendants turned a blind eye and failed in their responsibility to protect students from the rabbi, whose behavior she claims, was becoming ever more bizarre and who was mistreating women subjected to his authority.[43] On December 18, a student atTowson University, where Freundel also taught, added her name to the lawsuit, claiming that Freundel encouraged her to take a "practice dunk" in themikvah as part of her studies, even though she was not Jewish and had no interest in converting.[44] She was joined by another woman who had been converting to Judaism under Freundel's auspices and who had likewise been encouraged by Freundel to take a "practice dunk." They added theRabbinical Council of America as a defendant as well.[45] In August 2016, the class action lawsuit was amended to add the Beth Din of America as a defendant, bring the total number of institutions named as defendants to four.[46]
The synagogue board responded with this statement: "Kesher Israel's leadership is deeply concerned about the harm caused by Rabbi Freundel's actions—of which we did not and could not have known—and for the personal welfare of all those individuals who may have been violated. The lawsuits that were recently filed are completely without merit. Our energies remain focused on working towards healing our community and building a vibrant future for Kesher Israel."[47]
Freundel ultimately pleaded guilty to 52 counts ofvoyeurism[48] and was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison and fined $13,000.[49]
On October 22, 2018, a class action lawsuit against Freundel and four religious organizations named as defendants – Kesher Israel, the National Capital Mikvah, the Rabbinical Council of America, and the Beth Din of America – was settled for $14.25 million.[50]
In July 2015 the congregation hired Rabbi Dr. Avidan Milevsky as its part-time interim spiritual leader.[51] Milevsky, an associate professor ofpsychology atKutztown University of Pennsylvania, was the author of five books and previously served as interim rabbi of Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Congregation inBaltimore.[52] The Milevsky family madealiyah to Israel a year later.[53]
On March 16, 2017, the synagogue announced the appointment of a full-time replacement, Rabbi Hyim Shafner, who had been serving for the previous 13 years as a congregational rabbi inSt. Louis. He formerly served for eight years as theHillel chaplain atWashington University in St. Louis and, before then, worked for a year in theJewish community in Mumbai, India.[54]
Kesher Israel was the target of anantisemitic incident on December 17, 2023, when a man fromToledo, Ohio illegally parked hisU-Haul van on the sidewalk in front of the synagogue and then attempted to gain entry into the building while the rabbi was conducting a class. When he was unable to open the locked door, he shouted "gas the Jews" and sprayed a foul-smelling substance on two congregants who had exited the building.[55] The man was arrested byMetropolitan Police and charged with multiple offenses, including ahate crime. Earlier on the same day, multiple Jewish institutions and synagogues in Washington, including Kesher Israel, receivedbomb threats byemail, which the police had deemed to be "non-credible."[56]
In 2024, following the acquisition of an adjacent property, the congregation announced an $18 million renovation campaign that would greatly expand its facilities.[57]
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